Fluid-displacement apparatus



Nov, 4, 1930. T. M. GUNN FLUID DISPLACEMENT APPARATUS Filed March l5, 1927 2 Sheets-Sham l @2913, abme/1g@ Nov. 4, 1930. T. GUNN 1,780,784

FLUID DISPLACEMENT APPARATUS Filed March l5, 1927 I 2 Sheets-Shea? 2 Patented Nov. 4, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE THOMAS I. GUNN, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR F ONE-SIXTH TOGORHAM CROSBY, 0F GLEN RIDGE, NEW JERSEY FLUID-DISPLACEMEN T APPARATUS Application led latch 15, 1927. Serial No. 175,509.

My invention relates to improvements in fiuid displacement apparatus and while the invention is applicable to many and widely different kinds of apparatus, it is particularly adapted for the displacement of a fluid refrigerating medium for the purpose of compressing the same. The main object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive but efficient apparatus of the class described which has few parts and therefore requires only a low upkeep cost. Further and more specific objects, features and advantages will mor'e clearly.` appear from ythe detail description given below ltaken in connection with the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a vertical section through an apparatus adapted to compress a fiuid refrigerant in a small refrigerating apparatus and embodying my improvements in a preferred form thereof. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of certain parts taken substan- Y tially on the line A-A of Fig. 1. Fi 3 1s a transverse section taken on the line S-B of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a section taken substantially on the line C C of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line D-.D of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a detail section through one of the cylinder heads. Fig. 7 is a section taken on the line E-E of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a face view of the inner end of one of the cylinder heads. Fig. 9 is a section taken on the line F-F of Fig. 7. Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating a principle of operation.

lReferring to the drawings, 1 represents a vertical tubular casing closed at its upper end by a head 2 secured thereto by bolts 3 and at its lower end by a head 4 secured thereto by bolts 5. The casing is hermetically sealed as by packing at 6 vand 7. In the upper end of the casing is arranged an electric motor, the field structure 8 of which abuts a chamfered portion of the casing at 9; This field structure is held in place by a sleeve 10 su ported by an intermediate l partition and bearinfy member 11, which member 11 is supported on one side by screw pin 12 on the other side by a key member 13 slidable in a vertical keyway 14, and operated and supported b a screw pin 15. The key 13 engages a note ed portion of the bearing member 11 so that the latter is caused to assume, and is held in, the proper angular relation with respect to the other parts.

The armature 16 of the motor is directly connected and fixed to the upper end of the driving shaft 17 for the purpose of driving the same, the driving shaft 17 rotating about a vertical axis. The shaft 17 has one bearing in the portion 19 of member 11 and another bearing at the bottom in a bearing member 20 bolted to the bottom 4. 21 represents a driven member also rotating about a vertical axis spaced from and eccentric to the axis of the shaft 17. For this purpose the member 21 has a bearing at the bottom about an upwardly extending pivotal portion 23 of member 20, and a member 22 bolted to the top of the member 21 has a bearing about a downwardly extending pivotal portion 24 of the member 11. The bottom of the member 21 rests and rotates upon the fixed sleeve 25 extending upwardly from the bottom 4 and the shaft 17 and motor armature 16 and attached member-68 rests on the upper end of the bearing portion 19 of the member 11.

The driven member 21 is aperturedtransversely to provide therein a cylinder 25 in which a piston 26 is arranged to reciprocate. The center line of the cylinder 25 and piston 26 extends at right angles to the axes of the members 17 and 21. The piston 26 is provided with a vertically extending cylindrical passageway 28 at its center, in which fits a cylindrically shaped cam or eccentric 29 which eccentrlc is integral with but eccentric to the shaft 17. Thus upon rotation of the shaft 17 with respect to the member 21, the eccentric 29 will reciprocate the piston 26 back and forth in the cylinder 25.

Each end of the cylinder 25 is closed by a cylinder head 30. See Figs. 5 to 9). Each cylinder head comprises a circular member 31 having a hole 32 extending therethrough and which communicates with the outside of the head and ports 33 extending from said hole to a groove 35 on the inside of thecylinder head. The ports 33 are normally closed by a fiat resilient spring member 34 on the Inside of the groove 35. The ends of the spring 34 are held firmly against the face of the groove by a key member 36. The inside face of the key member 36 is dished as at 37 to permit the central part ofthe spring 34 to be drawn away from and uncover the ports 33. Thus when the reci rocation of the piston causes suction or su cient reduction in pressure in one end of the cylinder, the spring valve 34, which is normally resiliently held against its seat, will be drawn away therefrom and so open the passageway through the cylinder head and permit gases or other fluid to be drawn therethrough into the cylinder by the operation of the piston. The dished portion 37 of the key member 36, although thus permitting the valve 34 to be opened, limits the opening movement thereof in a desirable manner.

Each cylinder head is provided with a flange 38 seated on the end of the cylinder and each cylinder head is held in its operative position by means of a bowed spring 39 engaging a groove on the outer face of the cylinder head. Each of the bowed springs 39 is hooked at its ends as at 40 for the purpose of engaging toggle bolts `41 (see Fig. 3), the toggle bolts on each side being connected by turnbuckles 42 by means of which the resiliency or tension with which the cylinder heads are held againsttheir seats, may be adjusted. Thus if an abnormal pressure be exerted in either end of the cylinder the corresponding spring 39 will` give sufficiently to permit its cylinder head to move out from its seat and open the cylinder so as to relieve the excessive pressure.

The cylinder 25 acts as a guideway for the piston 26, and arranged in the upper part of the rotating member 21 is another guideway 434in which is adapted to slide a block or member 44. The block 44 is provided with a cylindrical aperture 45 extending vertically therethrough and fitted in this aperture is a cylindrical cam member or eccentric 46 which eccentric is integral with the shaft 17 but arranged eccentric with respect thereto. Thus when the shaft 17 is rotated with respect to the member 21, the block member 44 will be reciprocated back and forth in the guideway 43 and in a line at right angles to the axes of rotation of shaft 17 and member 21. The centers of the eccentrics 29 and 46 are equidistant from the vertical axis' of the shaft 17 and at the end of radii from such axis, which radii are diametrically opposite to one another. Thus the piston member 26 and block member 44 are reciprocated in horizontal planes in lines which are at right angles to one another and at right angles to the axes of the shaft 17 and member 21.

The operation will be more easily understood by reference to Athe diagram shown 1n Fig. 10. In this diagram 47 represents a disc rotatable. about a .fixed axis .at 48. 49 represents a drive shaft rotating about a fixed axis at 50. The drive shaft 49 car# ries two diametrically opposite arms ,51 and 52 of equal length, this length being equal to the distance from the axis at 50 to the axis at 48. To the outer ends of the arms are pivoted block members 53 and 54 respectively, which vblock members slide in and are guided by grooves 55 and 56 respectively. From the above it will be seen that, according to well known principles, upon rotating the shaft 49 the blocks 53 and 54 will be caused to reciprocate back and forth in their respective grooves and cause rotation of the disc 47 about its axis 48, but the disc 47 will only7 rotate at one-half the speed of the shaft 49.

In the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to 5, the shaft 17 corresponds to the shaft 49, the eccentrics 29 and 46 correspond to the arms 51 and 52 respectively, the piston member 26 and block member 44 correspond to the blocks 53 and 54 respectively, the member 21 corresponds to the disc member 47 and the axis of rotation of the member 21 corresponds to the axis of rotation 48. Thus upon rotation of the shaft 17 the eccentrics 29 and 46 cause the member 26 and 44 to reciprocate back and forth in their guideways and, at the same time, cause rotation of the member 21 but at one-half the speed of rotation of the shaft 17. Thus it is possible to use an electric motor running at high speed and directly connected to the shaft 17 for driving the same while the member 21 is only rotated at half that speed and the speed of the piston 26 and block member 44 therein is materially reduced.

The Vapor or other fluid to be compressed or pumped is admitted to the interior of the casing through a pipe 57 and is thence drawn into the ports in the cylinder heads 30 and the cylinder 25 by the reciprocation of theV ilo escapes at the proper times into a port 59 inthe pivotal portion 23 of the bearing member 20 and is conducted from the apparatus by a pipe 60 connected with the port 59.'

For the purpose of lubricating the various bearings the bottom portion of the casing is filled with a suitable oil to a level slightly above the line B-B (see Fig. 1). This causes oil to flow between the relatively moving parts 21 and 25 to lubricate the adjacent bearing surfaces thereof. Oil also flows through a hole 61 in the member 25 and thence through a hole 62 in the bearing member 20 to form a layer of oil under the lower end of the shaft 17 and lubricates the bearing thereof in l.the bearingv member 20. Thence oil is drawn by centrifugal force up iso through an upwardly and outwardly extendv ing passage 63 in th'e lower end of the shaft tween the lower end of the member 21 and the bearing portion 23 and between the bearing portion 23 and the shaft 17. From the space 64 in the piston 26 oil is also conducted by centrifugal force through a passage 65 extending upwardly and outwardly through the eccentric 29. The upper end of the passage 65 opens into the central space 66 in the piston but above the eccentric 29. The oil thus fills this space and flows into the space below the eccentric 46 in the block 44 whence by centrifugal action it is caused to fiow up through an upwardly and outwardly extending passage to the space in the block 44 above the eccentric 46. From here the oil finds its way between the shaft 17 and the bearing portion 19. Any oil flowing out over the top of the bearing portion 19 and between it and the member 68 secured to the motor armature, is directed downwardly by the inverted pau shaped member 69 also secured to the motor armature. A guard 70 surrounding the lattcr insures that such escaping oil be kept from the motor parts and eventually return to the bottom part of the casing through apertures 71 in the partition member 1] 7 2 represents merely a distance piece. For the purpose of balancing the rotating elements 17 etc. an eccentrically arranged weight 73 is secured to the top of the motor armature. If desired the block 44 may also be made in the form of piston and guideway 43 in the form of a cylinder like the piston 26 and cylinder 25, so that in this way a plurality of pistons or pumps .may be simultaneously operated by the shaft 17, to compress or pump or displace the fiuid admitted to the lower part of the casing through the pipe 57. Likewise the angular relation of the guideways may be changed, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, to change the possible number of piston members from one or two as described, to three, four or more.

From the above it will be seen that I have provided a compressor or fiuid displacement apparatus which is not only simple in form and contains few parts but which is eiiicient in operation. The electric motor is directly connected in a simple manner and both the motor and compressor parts operate in a closed container thereby eliminating the chances of leakage ofthe vapor or fluid being compressed. The compressor is doubleacting, but its speed is reduced with respect to the speed of the driving shaft so that the piston makes only one single stroke for each revolution of the spindle; that is, the compressor piston runs at half motor speed and this without the necessity of using reduction gears or other complicated apparatus. The arrangement results in an apparatus having exceptionally good balance in all directions by proper proportioning the weight of various moving parts including the counter weights 73. By arranging the axes of the rotating parts substantially vertical, there is less wear which would make the apparatus noisy or tend to get same out of order. Furthermore, the lubrication of the various bearings is rendered automatic and effective by reason of the oil flowing under the action of centrifugal force. The motor being placed at the top is relatively free `from oil and the compressor while being effectively lubricated is not run in a bath of oil which has been found objectionable in certain cases. The oil level in the apparatus described is slightly above the line B-B (Fig. 1). If a certain amount of undue oil collects in the cylinder 25 thereby producing an abnormal pressure in the cylinder, the cylinder heads will move under the tension of springs 29 and so relieve the pressure. By reason of the fact that the valves 34, which control the inlet of the vapor or fluid into the cylinder 25, are rotating with the cylinder 25, any oil carried by the vapor or fiuid to be compressed is substantially freed therefrom due to the centrifugal force caused by the rotation of member 21 and the cylinder parts carried thereby. The gas or fluid thus enters the cylinder through the valves in the cylinder heads substantially freed of oil.

While I have described my improvements in connection with an apparatus which is particularly adapted to be used in a refrigeratin .system for compressing the expand ed refgrigerant in order that it may be reexpanded to accomplish refrigeration, nevertheless the invention in its broader aspects with modifications is applicable for use as an engine or hydraulicpump, or hydraulic motor, or air compressor, or various other purposes. Therefore the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the detail arrangements shown, but many changes and modifications may be made and the invention embodied in widely different forms without departing from the spirit and scope thereof in its broader aspects. Hence, I desire to cover all modifications and forms comingwithin the language or scope of any one or more of the appended claims.

Vhat I claim as new'and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. vIn a motor-driven fiuid compressor, the combination of a motor enclosed within space occupied by the fluid being compressed; a compressor having a driving member directly connected to the rotor of said motor and having also a piston and a cylinder operating in conjunction with one another to accomplish compression of the fluid, said compressor being of such construction that the piston completes its cycle of motion once in two revolutions of the driving member; and a casing enclosing all of said parts, said casing being provided with electrical connections for said motor and with suitable connections for introducing to the compressor and withdrawing therefrom fluid to be compressed.

2. In a refrigerating system wherein a refrigerant is expanded to accomplish refrigeration, means for compressing expanded refrigerant comprising a motor, a vertical driving shaft directly connected to the rotor of said motor, two eccentrics thereon, two mem@ bers reciprocated' thereby on lines at right angles to one another, a rotary driven member having guideways in which said reciprocating members reciprocate whereby .rotation of the driving member rotates the rotary driven member at half the speed of the driving shaft, one of said guideways acting as a cylinder and the reciprocating member therein as a piston cooperating therewith to effect compression of refrigerant at both ends of the cylinder and piston, the other guide- Wa y and reciprocating member cooperating with the eccentrics and driving shaft to trans- .mit forces necessary for compression of refrigerant, a casing hermetically sealing all of said parts, including the motor, from the atmosphere, and connections whereby refrigerant to be compressed may be introduced through the casing to the cylinder and withdrawn from the casing thereafter.

` 8. vFluid displacement apparatus having in combination a motor, a vertical driving shaft directly connected to the rotor of said motor, two eccentries on said shaft, two reciprocating members having openings with whichl said eccentrics engage, a rotary driven member having guideways extending at right angles to one another in which the reciprocating members are reciprocated by the eccentrics respectively, whereby rotation of the' driving shaft rotates the driven member at half the speed of the driving shaft, the axis of the driven member being parallel to the axis of the driving shaft but offset therefrom by an amount equal to the eccentricity of the eccentrics, one of said guideways acting as a cylinder and the` reciprocating member therein acting as a piston, cooperating therewith to effect displacement of iuid, and the other guideway and corresponding reciprocating member cooperating with the eccentrics on the driving shaft to transmit the forces necessary fordisplacement of the fluid, a stationary ca sing for said parts, said casing having an oil reservoir, one of said rotating members having a assageway through which the oil is forced to` earings and guideways.

4. Fluid displa cement-apparatus having in combination a rotary driven member, a driving shaft extending therethrough and rotating the driven member at less speed than the driving shaft, the driven member having a cylinder therein, and a piston operating in said cylinder, and a stationary casing for said parts, said casing having an oil reservoir, one of said rotating members having a passageway through which theoil is forced to its bearings by centrifugal force produced by the rotation of the member.

5. Fluid displacement apparatus having in combination a driven member rotating about a vertical axis, a driving shaft extending therethrough and also rotating about a vertical axis, the driven member having a cylinder, a piston operating in said cylinder and driven by said driving'shaft, and a stationary casing for said parts', said casing having an oil reservoir, one of said rotating lmembers having a passageway through Y said parts, said casing having an oil reservoir and said shaft having a passageway through which oil is caused to flow to its bearings by centrifugal force produced by the rotation of the member. Invtestimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.y Y

THOMAS M. GUN N. 

